Since the murder in 1593 of the playwright Christopher Marlowe, Deptford and its surrounds have long been defined by violence and crime.

So when The New York Times tipped the “edgy” southeast London area and its neighbour New Cross as the capital’s next tourism hotspot, describing it as “a boisterous concoction of blue-collar aesthetics and intermittent hipsterism”, the travel review left many a little perplexed.

While many residents were derisive — one commenting that New Yorkers “might as well book two weeks allinclusive in Kabul” — even those promoting the area pronounced themselves mystified by the article, saying that it was “rather bizarre”.

When The Times entered Deptford High Street to take a look for itself, the group of youths hanging around outside the shabby station — in desperate need of a paint job — were giving it more than a little “edge”.

“What you doing? You looking at me?” a girl screamed as I took out a notebook to make notes of the Iceland supermarket, pound stores and fried chicken shops in the street that the NYT had described as “blissfully free of chain stores”. The girl was yelling in my face, “You want to make something of it?”, but was placated when she realised that I was a journalist and not an undercover police officer.

Her friends were then happy to provide a tourism review of their own. “Deptford? It’s s**t,” a 14-year-old youth said. “Unless you like prostitutes, druggies and gangsters — then it’s paradise.”

The New York Times was more generous, urging its readers to visit Deptford and New Cross because “with the unpolished location comes that most heady of urban ingredients, an edge”.

Across the road from the station, there is little to occupy tourists — a large Jobcentre is unlikely to make the list of must-see attractions alongside Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.

Deptford Market, the heart and soul of the Afro-Caribbean area, is less than 100 metres away and boasts an eclectic mix of fruit and vegetable stores alongside rug sellers and fishmongers. But it is badly in need of a makeover and a clean-up.

Traders are optimistic about its attractiveness to tourists. Brett Wilcox, who has sold flowers at the market for more than 30 years, said that the area “covered every spectrum” of society”. He admitted: “It’s not a place that you would want to run around on your own at night. But it’s a generally good community and is vibrant.”

The Deptford Project, an old railway carriage that has been converted into a café, is symbolic of the gentrification that has already taken hold in East End areas such as Shoreditch and Dalston. While the high street is crowded with people mostly of Afro-Caribbean descent, the café is packed with white, middle-class mothers with prams, and young men with laptops.

This is the type of attraction that Lewisham Council, the local authority, is keen to promote. The council and local businesses, with the help of a £1.3 million grant from the London Development Agency, have hired a public relations agent to help to boost tourism in the area. As well as the New York Times article, Italian Vogue has sung the praises of Deptford.

An art trail is planned in the summer and a contemporary art festival for October. Under the slogan “poets, pirates and luvvaduck charm”, the unknown assets of the area will be promoted, such as the burial place of Marlowe in nearby St Nicholas’s Church and a rich maritime history.

However, it is an uphill battle. While art studios and galleries have been a feature for years — New Cross is home to Goldsmiths College, cradle of Brit Art — it is mostly dotted with rundown pubs, fast-food outlets and budget clothing stores. There are regular reports of stabbings in the local newspaper and teenage gangs are acknowledged as a problem. Or, as The New York Times put it, the area “still feels a bit like London’s Wild West”.

Then there are the live music venues — The New York Times highlighted the Amersham Arms, but there are plenty more, continuing the area’s rich musical heritage from Dire Straits and Squeeze in the 1970s and 1980s to Athlete and Bloc Party today.

At the Royal Albert Pub, the manager Mark Sprules said that “the jury’s still out — it’s certainly a bit rough around the edges. If that’s what you go for then its great.”

Jean, 55, who has lived in the area since 1965, said that the place was “definitely not for snobs . . . But if you want to see how the other half live, it’s a good start”. Heidi Alexander, deputy mayor of Lewisham, said: “A lot of the time Deptford gets a really bad press. We want to get the positive message out there. There’s definitely still a fear of crime. It’s an issue that needs to be tackled. But the area is slowly changing.”

The main attractions

The Deptford Project A commuter train carriage converted into a café in a railway yard

The Royal Albert The pub, formerly the Paradise Bar, was described in the travel review as hosting “indie types lounging on studded leather sofas on a stripped pine floor, sampling Belgian Trappist beers and baked breaded Camembert with cranberry sauce”

A J Goddard A pie and mash restaurant run by the same family since 1890

High street An eclectic and grubby mix of markets, fast-food outlets, pound stores and hairdressers. There is a lot of litter but the traders are friendly and the seafood can be top notch

The Bunker Club — A basement club that serves drinks in cans and plastic cups. “Upmarket this isn’t,” the travel review said

Other possibilities Art studios Along Creekside, a tributary of the Thames, art studios have been created in buildings such as printing factories. Many were closed when The Times visited

Laban The largest contemporary dance centre in Europe, which won the Sterling prize for architecture

St Nicholas’s Church The resting place of Christopher Marlowe. A painting at its entrance is said to be the inspiration for the pirate flag

Wavelengths The swimming pool and library were suggested when The Times asked residents for tourist recommendations Source: The New York Times

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